RIVERSIDE, Calif. — On Tuesday, Mar. 12, an Allen Park, Michigan, man was found guilty of setting fires to six truck trailers that belonged to commercial trucking company Swift Transportation.
His crime spanned 10 months, according to officials.
A jury found Viorel Pricop, 66, guilty of six counts of arson of vehicle or property in interstate commerce after being held in federal custody since October 2022.
From December. 2021 to September 2022, Pricop “maliciously set fire to six semi-trailers belonging to Swift Transportation,” a news release states. “Four of those arsons occurred in San Bernardino County (Newberry Springs, Ludlow, Barstow and Hesperia), and two happened in Riverside County (Coachella) in California.”
According to an affidavit that was filed previously in this case, Pricop also set fire to at least 18 additional Swift Transportation semi-trailers in other states from June 2020 to March 2022. These incidents occurred at locations spanning from Barstow, California, to McCalla, Alabama, with most incidents occurring along Interstate 10 and Interstate 40.
Federal criminal charges associated with some of these fires were filed against Pricop in the District of New Mexico and the District of Arizona.
“We have methodically worked each of the fire scenes, collected evidence, interviewed witnesses and reviewed video footage to help us solve these arson cases,” said Special Agent in Charge Brendan Iber of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Phoenix Field Division. “ATF’s certified fire investigators will continue to enforce federal laws pertaining to arson and support our state and local police and fire investigators.”
Swift Transportation hired a fire investigation consultant who assisted with the fire scene examinations. While investigating, a pattern began to develop when multiple reports noted similar methods of lighting the trailers on fire, including where on the vehicles the fires started and the fact that they occurred during the middle of the night.
In each of the incidents, the Swift-owned trailer was parked at or near a truck stop when a fire occurred on the trailer portion of the 18-wheeler, mainly on or near the trailer tires.
“Since beginning the work to solve this case, our arson investigators did a great job of looking at each fire to put the pieces together,” said New Mexico State Fire Marshal Randy Varela. “We know how important our partnerships with other agencies are, especially with a case that spans across multiple states, and we are proud of the work that we were able to do together to catch this arsonist.”
Law enforcement officials were able link Pricop to the fire scenes after reviewing cell tower data that was transmitted from a navigation device in his truck.
After obtaining court authorization, law enforcement was also able to obtain data and real-time location information from Pricop’s cellphone. Analysis of this information determined that Pricop was indeed present in the areas around all of the California fires as well, as the 18 fires in other states.
In September 2022, search warrants were executed on Pricop’s tractor-trailer, personal vehicle and residence, yielding additional evidence corroborating his involvement in this series of arsons.
The evidence collected included a gas torch, torch-style lighters and record-keeping documents containing location information, such as cargo pickup and delivery dates, which coincided with the time and location of several fires in the series of 24 fires across the country.
United States District Judge Sunshine S. Sykes has scheduled Pricop’s sentencing hearing for June 7.
At that time, Pricop will face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each count. Assistant United States Attorneys Cory L. Burleson, Sean D. Peterson and Mitchell M. Suliman of the Riverside Branch Office are prosecuting this case.
Born and raised in Little Rock, AR, Erica N. Guy decided to stay in her hometown to begin her professional career in journalism. Since obtaining her bachelor’s degree from UAPB, Erica has professionally written for several publications about several topics ranging from lifestyle, tech, culture, and entertainment, just to name a few. Continuing her love for her hometown, she joined our team in June 2023, where she is currently a staff writer. Her career goals include continuing storytelling through her writing by being the best professional writer she can be. In her spare time, Erica enjoys trying new foods, cozying up with a good book, spending time with family and friends, and establishing herself as a future businesswoman.
what a waste of his life at 66 years of age. how bored or disgruntled does someone have to be in order to destroy property..
Yikes!!! I hate Swift bc of how a miserable company it is,but I wouldn t set their equipment on fire when it risks innocent lives,such as the cases here
But if some one wants to destroy the whole company,by all means,fo ahead,just protect lives,innocent lives.
The rest? you can burn it to the ground, at the same time,don t expect my help,I ll just get the popcorn and watch it burn from a safe distance,I won t pee on the burning fire to slow it down,that s as much as I can (or not) help.